News of: Saturday, 22nd of October, 2011

Front Page

Disquiet grew yesterday over how ousted despot Muammar Gaddafi met his end after being taken alive, as Libya's new leaders faced huge pressure to proclaim liberation and launch the transition to democracy.

Despite having its own mayoral candidate, BNP is looking to support Selina Hayat Ivy in the Narayanganj City Corporation polls to ensure defeat of the ruling Awami League-backed candidate Shamim Osman.

Former senior superintendent of Dhaka Central Jail Tauhidul Islam has dismissed as motivated the probe report that said he had allowed four detained Jamaat and BNP leaders to use his mobile phones violating jail code.

Reiterating his concern over the use of electronic voting machines, Narayanganj City Corporation mayoral candidate Taimur Alam Khandakar yesterday asked the Election Commission to use the machines at two wards instead of the planned nine.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) on Thursday issued a letter to telecommunications ministry and telecoms regulator asking them to receive spectrum charges from mobile operators after deducting the tax at source.

Editorial

Tragically cruel as has been the end of Gaddafi, the truth is, as he lived by bullet, so he died by it. It was his hubris that dragged the end-game on. It thus fuelled a civil war claiming stupendous cost in terms of human lives, property and displacement of people.

Sports

Mushfiqur Rahim's Test captaincy got off to a solid start as the Tigers batted purposefully on the opening day of the first Test against West Indies at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday.

With very little of the country's cricket history being memorialised, it becomes difficult to draw inspiration from past heroism if one hasn't witnessed it first-hand. Tamim Iqbal was looking through YouTube for footage of Fidel Edwards but resorted to a landmark moment for the Tigers.

The coach of the Maldives team has rated Saudi Arabia as a bigger threat than Iraq and Oman in the Group A Qualifiers of the AFC U-19 Championship. The islanders will begin their campaign against hosts Bangladesh in one of two opening day's games at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on Tuesday.

Titas Club's quest for the National Bank Limited Premier Division Volleyball League title got a big boost after they beat Power Development Board (PDB) by straight 25-15, 25-18, 25-22 points in their match at the Volleyball Stadium yesterday.

Siddikur Rahman's poor form continued into the CJ Invitational hosted by KJ Choi at the Haesley Nine Bridges Golf Club in Korea yesterday. The 2010 Brunei Open winner however managed to evade the cut with a one-over-par 145 aggregate score at the end of round two which posted him on 50th position. The halfway cut was set at 147 with 71 players progressing into the weekend rounds.

Dhaka made it into the final of the Southeast Bank 22nd National Youth Hockey Competition with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Chittagong in the first semifinal at the Maulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium yesterday.

France's Gael Monfils stayed in the hunt for a place at the year-ending ATP World Tour Finals, coming from behind in the final set to defeat Bernard Tomic 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4 at the Stockholm Open on Thursday.

The Meizan National School Kabaddi Competition advanced to semifinal stage as Shaheed Nabi High School and Maniknagar Model High School confirmed their semifinal berth at the Kabaddi Stadium yesterday.

Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska secured the last remaining spot in the season-ending WTA Championships without hitting a ball after Marion Bartoli retired from her Kremlin Cup quarterfinal with an illness on Friday.

They may be in the second tier Championship but Birmingham City are faring solidly in the Europa League and a last-minute effort by Kiwi forward Chris Wood secured a 2-1 win at Belgium's Club Brugge on Thursday to bolster hopes of winning their group.

Leaders Barcelona have Cesc Fabregas back in the squad for Saturday's match at home to Sevilla after the Spain midfielder recovered from a hamstring injury sustained in training on October 1, Barca said on their website on Friday.

Hundreds of transgenders (hijras) took to the street yesterday seeking their legal and social recognition as 'third gender' outside men and women, and demanded protection of their rights for education and employment in the country.

The government needs not formulate any broadcasting policy, as the existing laws are enough to ensure accountability of the media, Dr Akbar Ali Khan, former adviser to a caretaker government, said at a roundtable yesterday.

Most of the countries are unlikely to achieve the millennium development goals (MDGs) by 2015 as sexual and reproductive rights have yet not been ensured in majority of the Asia Pacific countries including Bangladesh, observed an international conference yesterday.

Police arrested five men, including four Pakistani nationals, and seized a huge amount of foreign cigarette, digital video camera, camera, imitation jewelry and VoIP equipment worth around Tk 1 crore from the Shahjalal International Airport (SIA) in the city yesterday.

Awami League leader Suranjit Sengupta yesterday urged BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia to give deposition in favour of Jamaat leaders to International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) if she has obtained enough evidence that they did not commit war crimes in 1971.

Gas Transmission Company Limited (GTCL), a company of Petrobangla, yesterday signed eight contract agreements with two foreign and six local companies for installation of compressor stations and construction of transmission pipelines to improve transmission and distribution of gas.

A youth chopped his grandmother to death and injured his grandfather over cutting down the branches of a mangos teen (Gaab) tree at their common boundary at Pashchim Chhoy village in Agoiljhara upazila yesterday.

A day after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina blasted party lawmaker Golam Maula Roni for criticising communications minister in a television talk show, the local party men demanded Roni's removal yesterday.

A South Korean construction company has donated 50,000 metallic black boards and 5000 digital pianos worth about US $ 8 million to the primary and mass education ministry for the use of primary schools.

International

Disquiet grew yesterday over how ousted despot Muammar Gaddafi met his end after being taken alive, as Libya's new leaders faced huge pressure to proclaim liberation and launch the transition to democracy.

The United States called on Pakistan yesterday to take action within "days and weeks" on dismantling Afghan militant havens and encouraging the Taliban into peace talks in order to end 10 years of war.

Muammar Gaddafi's body lay in an old meat store on Friday as arguments over a burial, and his killing after being captured, dogged efforts by Libya's new leaders to make a formal start on a new era of democracy.

The capture and death of Libya's ousted strongman Muammar Gaddafi has sparked an online frenzy in the Arab world, with social networking sites warning Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and Yemen's Ali Abdullah Saleh their time is up.

Senior opposition leader L K Advani yesterday claimed his party was not consulted on the proposed transfer of land in northeastern state of Assam to Bangladesh under the bilateral land boundary accord signed during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Dhaka last month.

Syrian security forces killed 19 civilians yesterday, ten of them in the flashpoint central city of Homs, where the death of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi galvanised mass protests, rights activists said.

Arts & Entertainment

A two-day Classical Dance Festival kicked off at Chhayanaut on October 20. Held at Chhayanaut's main auditorium, in Dhanmondi, Dhaka, the festival featured demonstrations of Indian classical dance forms -- Manipuri, Odissi, Bharatanatyam and Kathak -- by both emerging and renowned dancers.

Today marks the 57th death anniversary of poet Jibanananda Das, acknowledged to be the pioneer of modernism in Bangla poetry. He relied largely on imagistic and symbolical means to express in his poems a complexity that grapples with the subjective realities of modern urban life. He was unhappy with the conditions of modern living, was hopelessly impecunious and often expressed a deeply tragic sensibility.

Several leading Hollywood organizations representing writers, directors, actors and the group that awards the Oscars, issued a sharply-worded statement on Wednesday lending their support to jailed Iranian filmmakers.

New theatre troupe Tirandaj Natyadal made its debut on stage with the play “Onoitihashik”. Based on writings of Humayun Azad, the play premiered at the Experimental Theatre Hall, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on October 20. Shaheen Reza Russell has written the play, based on Azad's “Pak Sar Zamin Shad Bad” and “Amar Obishshash”. Deepak Suman [of Aranyak Natyadal] has directed the play.

OP-ED

When ordinary folks who are at the bottom of the socio-economic scale and whose life patterns are dictated by day-to-day compulsions, feel and speak in desperate terms they can be excused. The norms and nuances of an orderly and lawful existence may not be of much significance to them. Probably, nobody would be surprised if discussions on the dynamics of civilised society appear fruitless deliberations to such people.

It is always a problem for a people's movement to stay within the contours of its original purpose. Too many hands join to bask in the glory and like too many cooks, they spoil the broth. I had such an apprehension when Anna Hazare's stir against corruption, more specifically for the appointment of Lokpal (ombudsman) to eliminate it, began.

It is not everyday that a phenomenon like "Muktijuddho" happens in a nation's lifetime. Forty years ago, the sons and daughters of potters, boatmen and agriculture workers, who Rabindranath had called "jonmo-lokkhi-charar dol" (the forever irreverent and irrational lot who Lakshmi had forsaken) took that imprudent step of walking through nine months of blood and fire and carved out a nation for themselves.

Ominous crises have taken hold over the country, breaking down hopes and aspirations of the people. Foremost among them is the simmering political crisis. The administration and the leaders of the political parties do not act on the basis of rational discussion and public opinion. The rule of reason or a consensus seems to be an illusion. These concepts seem to be the guiding spirit in the pages of newspapers, public speeches of the leaders and neatly arranged seminars. On the other hand, the force of events, mostly disastrous, taking shape at break-neck speed, has led the government to make up policy by the hour, day and week.

Environment

Climate defined to be the average change in the temperature over a period of 30 years. But human-induced global warming-led climate change is now a great issue of concern as with the passage of time it is being exposed in front of us as a crude reality and is showing its increased damaging effect on human beings, biodiversity etcetera. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) defines climate change as the change resulting from long term direct and indirect activities, that induces changes in the compared time which are much more than the natural change. Taking this into cognisance there is a global effort now in stopping climate from further deterioration. Bangladesh, believed to be the worst-affected victim of climate change, has already raised its voice in this regard and is adopting strategies and actions for adapting to climate change impact and if possible for mitigating measures.

The never ending debate on energy supply for a cleaner environment, recently associated with the worldwide effort to decrease global CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions, has been revived by the rapid growth of energy demand and gradual depletion of energy resources. An assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) draws attention to the need for a change in a current energy policy. According to the report, world energy consumption grew by three times in 2008 compared to the year 1965 áhttp://www.bp.comñ. More than 86% of all energy production (heat, electricity or movement) is based on fossil fuels, such as oil, gas, coal, etc., which cause CO2 emissions to the atmosphere equivalent to 7 Gton (gega ton) of carbon per year and this value is expected to be doubled by 2050 (International Energy Agency, IEA) áhttp://www.energybulletin.net/3998.htmlñ.

Literature

With passionless finesse they want to know what goes on in my mind. I think my entire life is made and unmade there. Piece by piece I put myself together and I see a different person than what I perceived in exaggerated expectations. I rejoice in this liberated self.

The French literary critic and theorist Roland Barthes believes the death of an author makes readers more responsible toward the creations of the author. He concludes his essay, Death of the Author thus: “The birth of the reader must be at the cost of the death of the author.” Here judgement or the birth of a reader takes a prominent place. And that comes through observing the place the modern Bengali poet Jibanananda Das for those who love poetry.

If we closely observe the citation of Rabindranath in 'La Metafora' and the comment-filled news in the magazine 'Proa', we shall notice that Borges had no fascination for Rabindranath. What is left is the expression of his emotions that sways between hope and despair. And he has expressed his feelings by blending them somewhat with poetical and oblique expressions. Even though Borges has provided an indication of his delight and gripping experience of reading one or two works of Rabindranath, he has given no definite reason for such expressions. It appears that Borges had chained all his superficial expressions to negations, anchored in fathomless depths. The main reason may have been the sharp differences between the artistic nature of Rabindranath and that of Borges. But through these comments Borges did not fully expose the differences between their literary tastes. He did it at a much later stage.

Star Health

Osteoporosis is a condition in which bone density decreases and becomes porous leading to frequent fractures. It is a silent epidemic and largely preventable through just three steps C, D, E — Calcium, Vitamin D and Exercise.

Many people want to ignore and hope for the best when they see blood passes through or mixes with stool. Some people are scared of the sign and want to explore the causes behind it. Whatever may be the reason, we should not ignore it and should consult a doctor.

The sooner people can cross their legs after having a stroke, the better their chances for recovery, new research published in the journal Neurology suggests. This complicated movement, occurring within two weeks of a stroke, is a good sign that the brain is processing again, researchers said.

Men who regularly take vitamin E supplements eventually have a higher risk of developing prostate cancer, compared to other men of the same age and overall health who do not — researchers from the Cleveland Clinic reported in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association).

Strategic Issues

AT the invitation of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, on October 11, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing and started his two-day official visit to China. This is Putin's first visit to a foreign country after his ruling party announced that he would be a candidate as President in March 2012. Prior to his trip to China, Putin said the two countries "have enjoyed an unparalleled partnership" and that he believes the meetings with the Chinese leaders will see "a positive development" in bilateral relations. Calling Putin "an old friend of China", President Hu Jintao said the Russian leader's visit "moved forward the Sino-Russian comprehensive strategic relationship." Putin's visit commemorated the 10th anniversary of a treaty of "Good-Neighbourliness, Friendship and Cooperation" between the two former communist allies.

CHINESE Premier Wen Jiabao and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh agreed to establish a regular bilateral strategic economic dialogue mechanism during Wen's visit to India last December, and the first one-day meeting of the China-India Strategic Economic Dialogue was held in Beijing on 26 September.

ON 17 September 2011, the United States witnessed something unprecedented in its history: citizens pitched their tents in Zuccotti Park (or Liberty Plaza, depending on what you ask) just off of Wall Street in New York City. The people began protesting corporate greed, wealth inequality, and corporate lobbyist influence on the U.S. government. Their starting date is no coincidence: the 17th of September is the day the U.S. Constitution was signed in 1787.

Star Books Review

A fairy-tale romance, a tragic flaw, a nasty twist, an exposure of the reality behind the façade, a crucial decision, an acceptance of one's mixed origins, all merge to create Picture Perfect, another of Jodie Picoult's masterpieces.

There is music in the air, especially when you let nostalgia take over. In the world of black and white that once was, something of the truly lyrical came to define music in our part of the world. Sachin Dev Burman was part of that world. And those who shared that world with him, be it in creating melody or partaking of it, could not have missed realizing the increasingly larger dimensions it acquired through being peopled by Burman and his contemporaries. And yet there were the moments, there is that certain feeling, that Burman went beyond all those others. He sang, he had lyrics suit the melody. And he did it all with perfection.